For the week of November 5 - 11, 2003

So close, Wolverines settle for second

Wood River girls beat
McCall, Payette at state

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By JODY ZARKOS
Express Staff Writer

Wood River High School’s girls’ soccer team settled reluctantly for the second-place trophy in the State 3A girls’ soccer tournament Saturday at Buhl.

Margii Driscoll (left) and Charlotte Gourlay (#7) celebrate Gourlay’s goal that gave Wood River a 2-1 lead in Saturday’s State 3A championship game against American Falls. Coach Doug Stouffer raises his hands in the background. But it was Wood River’s last hurrah, as the Beavers rallied and won their first-ever state championship 3-2. Express photo by Willy Cook

Making the championship game was an accomplishment, but the final outcome was a microcosm of a tough season.

The Wolverines (11-9-3) weathered ups and downs worthy of a country song, but after losing Saturday’s state championship game 3-2 to American Falls on a late penalty kick, the blues seemed more apt.

"We had lots of peaks and valleys. I wasn’t even sure how far we would go at state," coach Doug Stouffer said.

Stouffer was optimistic after the Wolverines, with just five starting seniors, rolled over two-time defending champion McCall-Donnelly 5-1 Thursday with a fairly flawless effort.

Next, Hailey squeezed by Payette 4-3 in the semifinals to earn the right to meet American Falls in the championship.

That set the stage for Saturday’s championship game in which American Falls won its first-ever state title 3-2 on a disputed penalty kick in stoppage time. "The better team did not win," a stunned Stouffer said.

Despite the disappointment in not winning the state title, Wood River’s consolation was that it was the Hailey school’s best placing since 2000 when it won the second of the program’s two state titles.

Wood River’s mark of 76 goals scored this season is fourth best in the team’s 11-year history. And Charlotte Gourlay set a single-season record for most goals scored with 30 to eclipse the mark of 28 set by Kristi Toussaint in 1998.

Gourlay also moved into a tie for third place on the career scoring list with 46 total goals, matching the mark set by Jenny Hobson. Toussaint (85) is the all-time scoring leader.

State tourney games

The Wood River offense was clicking on all cylinders in the opening game against two-time defending champion McCall (16-5-1) Thursday.

With a tremendous team effort, the Wolverines netted four goals in a 20-minute span to best the Vandals 5-1.

"It was the best I have seen them play all year," Stouffer said. "The distribution of the ball, marking players. The team played up to its potential and it was fantastic to see."

Swift Rebecca Schwartzenberger opened scoring 11 minutes into the match, using her warp speed to beat the defense. Margii Driscoll netted the go-ahead goal at 2-1, burying a short-side burner with her left foot off an assist by Gourlay.

Gourlay gathered a serve from Schwartzenberger and nailed a left-footed shot in the far-left corner for a 3-1 lead.

Left-halfback Kim Brown rolled a perfect through pass to a hard-charging Driscoll who punched it right off the goalie’s hands for a 4-1 advantage.

Four seconds before the final whistle, Gourlay netted her second goal for a 5-1 final.

"Everyone had an excellent game but Jessie (Pieschl) was unbelievable and Danielle (keeper Donovan, 7 saves) was phenomenal," Stouffer said.

Wood River faced off against Payette (15-5-2), another tough Third District team in the semifinals Friday.

The Wolverines came out pumped and struck first on a well-executed give-and-go from Driscoll to Erin McQueen to Driscoll to Schwartzenberger, who found nothing but net from the far right side for a 1-0 lead at the nine-minute mark.

Payette equalized on a free kick by Jennifer Stemple. Two minutes after that, Hailey converted its own free kick. Pieschl chipped a perfectly-placed shot over the defense and Gourlay ran it down and scored for a 2-1 lead at halftime.

The teams traded goals after half. Schwartzenberger and Gourlay each scored at the three- and 16-minute marks. Payette found the back of the net twice to trail by one, 4-3, with 18 minutes remaining. But Wood River held on to prevail.

"They had the momentum early, but we were coming on," Payette coach Vonnie Paul said. "If we had another five minutes we could have tied it."

Before Saturday’s championship game, Stouffer said, "I wanted something better than the Payette game. I asked them to give me everything they had—to go out and play hard and play better and they did that. They really did. They lived up to my expectations."

American Falls (15-3-3) made it to the final by beating Bonners Ferry 3-1 and The Community School 1-0. The Beavers’ strong point was a solid back four, backstopped by sophomore goalie Jamie Snow.

"They disrupt play just enough that you can’t get up a head of steam," Community School coach Kelly Feldman remarked. "They are a better team than they look like."

The Beavers scored at 15 minutes off a free kick that careened off a Hailey player.

Wood River equalized, but it took 20 minutes of hard work—especially by centermen Driscoll, Pieschl and sweeper Gina Thomas, and forward Schwartzenberger. Finally, a shot by Erin McQueen was bobbled by Snow and senior striker Gourlay was there to put it up and over Snow’s head for a 1-1 tie at intermission.

The teams traded blows in the second half, and it looked like Gourlay (6 goals at state) delivered the knockout punch at the 25-minute mark. The senior striker headed the ball over her defender at the 40-yard line, dribbled it downfield and launched a perfect strike far corner for a 2-1 lead.

But just like Ali with his rope-a-dope, American Falls was down, but not out.

Four minutes later, Beaver Rosemary Martinez bounced the ball past goalie Danielle Donovan to knot the score, 2-2.

After a highly disputed call, the Beavers were awarded a penalty kick during stop time. Senior midfielder Brianne Nulph made the clutch shot to clinch the title for her team, 3-2.

The Wolverines (11-5 shots advantage for the game) had their chances late in the second half, but could not convert.

Driscoll made a dazzling run, dribbling through traffic and dishing to McQueen, but keeper Snow denied the shot. Senior co-captain Kate Elgee had a free kick knocked down. The Beavers blocked two shots by Pieschl in the final seconds.

"I have never ever wanted to win a game for the girls as much as that. Even when it was 2-2, I felt like we had it. I was getting ready for overtime. I felt like we had the offense to do it," Stouffer said.

Wood River season scoring: Team offense, 76 goals. Team defense, 65. Individual scorers—Charlotte Gourlay 30 goals, Margii Driscoll 15, Rebecca Schwartzenberger 11, Kate Elgee 7, Ireland King 3, Jessie Pieschl 2, Gina Thomas 2, Jutta Zierer 2, Ashley Hurley 1, Hilary Field 1, Erin McQueen 1.

 

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